The re-arrest of a Keadilan leader under the Internal Security Act yesterday reveals the determined effort by Barisan Nasional to destroy whatever little resistance there is to [its] hegemony, said a social reform movement today.

Dr Badrul Amin Bahrons re-arrest is the latest sign that the BN is riding roughshod over human rights and natural justice, said Aliran in a press statement.

The BN governments use of the ISA and its continued total disregard for the rule of law shows that it cannot tolerate any form of dissent. It also reveals an increasingly authoritarian streak.

Lets be clear: (Prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad is no democrat. He is an authoritarian leader who will brook no challenge or dissent from any quarter, it added.

The Penang-based watchdog said it would not come as a surprise if remnants of opposition leaders and vocal activists such as Badrul are soon put away for daring to speak out against the governments high-handed rule.

It also said Malaysians should ask themselves what role they have played in allowing this state of affairs to continue.

Badrul, a fiery orator, was first detained under the ISA in April last year and then released on Nov 3 with severe restrictions on his movement and residence.

He was scheduled to appear in court on March 5 to find out if he would be charged for violating those restrictions but was instead sent back to the Kamunting Detention Camp in Perak yesterday.

Terrorist state

Meanwhile, Keadilan deputy president Abdul Rahman Othman condemned the arrest as totally suspicious and cruel as Badrul did not have the advantage of legal representation and was not told the reasons for his arrest.

We want to know why the government has used the ISA and not proper court procedures to detain Badrul. What has he done that is so wrong that he is not [allowed the right of trial]? he queried during a press conference at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

This violent attitude towards innocent citizens of this country is what makes everyone including investors, tourists and foreign powers continue to accuse Malaysia as an unsafe terrorist state, Abdul Rahman added.

Badruls wife, Zumrah Husni, who was also present, claimed the detention was politically motivated as her husband and other ISA detainees have never been proven guilty of any charge in an open court of law.

If it is not politically motivated why was my husband disallowed from being active in politics and why were his rights as a citizen of Malaysia denied? she asked.

Keadilan womens wing chief Fuziah Salleh said the wing would hold the home ministry responsible on heaven and earth for causing distress to Badruls family.

Fuziah said the emotional stress following such arrests can destroy the families involved and was contrary to the family-building objectives propagated by the government.